As the country deals with the threat of bioterrorism, the flu season is right around the corner, making the initial detection of anthrax symptoms much more difficult to distinguish.

Both influenza and anthrax begin with fever, cough and aches. The difference between the two is that a virus causes the flu while bacteria cause anthrax, which can be treated with antibiotics.

It may seem logical to give the antibiotic to be on the safe side, but antibiotic resistance is a serious threat when antibiotics are used inappropriately, leading to more serious infections.

Over the last few decades antibiotics have been grossly misused in treating viral infections like colds and flu.

Nancy Raffetto, associate faculty associate in the zoology department, said antibiotics are useless against viruses. By taking antibiotics for unnecessary reasons, pressure is put on any bacteria present in the body by selecting bacteria with resistant genes.

“If you take an antibiotic inappropriately then you kill off all the other normal healthy nonharmful bacteria,” Raffetto said. “You are setting up an internal ecological situation where the bacteria with the resistant gene really proliferates and spreads from person to person easier.”

Besides selecting for resistant bacteria Raffetto said bacteria could pass their resistant genes on to other types of bacteria, allowing different illnesses to be resistant to antibiotic treatment.

Scott Spear, clinical director of University Health Services, said it is not a good idea to prescribe antibiotics if they are not needed because of the adverse effects of the drugs.

“No drug is safe and antibiotics cause their share of adverse reactions, everything from life-threatening reactions to minor discomforting reactions like yeast infections,” Spear said.

As more diseases like gonorrhea, pneumonia, staph and yeast infections become resistant to antibiotics, it becomes more important for patients to know the difference between viral and bacterial infections and not to demand drugs from doctors.

According to Spear, viruses cause colds, flu and most types of bronchitis and soar throats. Even sinus infections are not always bacterial infections, but because many patients have been given drugs in the past they demand the same treatment.

“People develop a perception they need an antibiotic because they may have been given it before,” Spear said. “Quite frankly, it’s easier to give antibiotics than it is to have a rational discussion with somebody.”

Many efforts made by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Wisconsin Antibiotic Resistance Network are intended to fight against antibiotic resistance on a local and international level.

They provide education programs for both the public and the clinicians to decrease the abuse of antibiotics.

They advise patients to always finish their course of medication, never to use an old prescription or someone else’s medication because certain antibiotics are only good for specific infections, never to ask for antibiotics for a viral infection, and to wash hands thoroughly to help limit the spread of disease.

UHS is serious about antibiotic resistance when treating students. They try to avoid prescribing medication when it is not needed, Spear said. Instead they advise symptom-relieving measures like nasal decongestants, saline nasal sprays and throat lozenges.

“The guidelines for UHS are certainly more rigorous than some places in the community, but it is based on science and good medical practice,” Spear said.